Hawkeye—part of Publicis Group—is coming off a banner year that included its parent company’s $4B acquisition of data-company Epsilon.

Now, the agency is welcoming three senior leaders to maximize the proprietary solutions powered by Epsilon and guide what Hawkeye calls an evolution in terms of its business.

It starts with people who are experts and empaths, the agency says. Joining Hawkeye are Jill Lyons, executive vice president, Delivery; Mike Chung, senior vice president, strategy director; and Brendon Volpe, senior vice president, strategy and marketing—all have a common goal to bridge gaps in a customer-centric approach. As the company puts it, “data is great, but humans are better.”

“The ability to sense and respond to human needs is the future of our industry—and achieving that promise means bringing the best people to the table,” said W. Joe DeMiero, chief executive officer of Hawkeye, in a statement.

DeMiero sees the trio as “intellectually curious, endlessly credentialed, and ready to break down siloes: The kinds of people that see the humanity in everything they do.”

Per Hawkeye:

Jill Lyons (Executive Vice President, Delivery) will oversee Hawkeye’s activation studios, responsible for connecting client needs with ‘maker’ solutions from the outset of strategy and development, including through enterprise technology, change communications and media. She is also responsible for articulating the agency’s internal experience orchestration through project management and workflow culture.

She assumes the newly created role following a client-side stint at Allstate as head of creative agency operations. Prior to that, she was a senior supervising producer at Harpo, where she worked closely with Oprah to build platforms for programming within the growing network. Lyons’ arrival at Hawkeye marks a return to Publicis—she previously led business operations at Epsilon Agency.

As she explains her passion for content that matters: “Data can get you there and provide authenticity in storytelling.”

Mike Chung (Senior Vice President, Strategy Director) will be responsible for building Hawkeye’s strategic approach to true experience orchestration (XO)—working with teams and clients to synchronize experiential within the full spectrum of CRM, and setting the standard for omnichannel marketing of the future.

He is a data-driven marketing strategist with more than 20 years of experience split between financial consulting, first at Accenture, and numerous automotive brands, including Acura, Chrysler, Genesis, Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia, Lexus, Nissan, Scion, and Toyota. His expertise is in converting market needs into customer solutions, with an emphasis on opportunity identification, partnership acquisition, product adoption and go-to-market strategies. 

He believes that strategy is the great unifier of brand experiences, and that “our understanding of technology and our empathy for others can and should be fully synchronized and cohesive.”

Brendon Volpe (Senior Vice President, Strategy and Product Marketing) will focus on scaling Hawkeye’s capabilities and the power of Epsilon to anticipate continued industry disruption and consumer behavior change, leveraging sophisticated psychological profiles to reframe data analysis from the “what” to the “why.”

He arrives at Hawkeye from Conde Nast where, as the head of strategy for their in-house agency CNX, he established the brand planning and consulting practice. Volpe previously led digital strategy for Team One, a Publicis Groupe agency, where he coordinated across media, creative and product teams to develop brand strategies and roadmaps.

As Brenan puts it: “I believe that customer-centricity, rigorous thinking, and creativity drive strategic decisions that move businesses forward.”

The new hires follow a year of outsize growth for Hawkeye: the Dallas-based agency grew its team 300 percent to more than 930 employees across 20 offices in seven time zones last year, the company says. In June, Hawkeye also hired Ian Sohn—previously CEO of Wunderman Thompson—as president and chief client officer.

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